Lieutenant RUPERT THEO VANCE MOON dit « MICK »
58th Battalion Australian Imperial Force
Né à Bacchus Marsh (Australie) le 14 août 1892
Mort à Barwon Heads (Australie) le 28 février 1986
© AWM A02592
Mick, employé de banque, rejoint en tant que volontaire les forces armées australiennes le 21 août 1914. Il obtient le grade de lieutenant au début de la Bataille d’Arras. Lors de la 2nde bataille de Bullecourt du 3 mai au 16 mai 1917, son bataillon a pour objectifs la capture d’un abri enterré, d’une position de mitrailleuse et d’une tranchée ennemis situés entre Bullecourt et Riencourt-lez-Cagnicourt. Au cours de l’assaut lancé le 12 mai, il est blessé à quatre reprises mais résiste avec ses hommes jusqu’à ce que la tranchée capturée soit consolidée et sécurisée. Pour cet acte de bravoure, Mick reçoit la Victoria Cross, la plus haute distinction britannique, des mains de George V à Londres.
Bank employee Mick joined up as a volunteer with the Australian armed forces on 21st August 1914. He was promoted to lieutenant at the beginning of the Battle of Arras. During the Second Battle of Bullecourt from 3rd May to 16th May 1917, his battalion's objective was to capture an underground shelter, a machine gun position and an enemy trench, all located between Bullecourt and Riencourt-lez-Cagnicourt. During the assault which was launched on 12th May, he was wounded no fewer than four times, but held fast with his men until the captured trench was consolidated and made secure. For this act of bravery, Mick was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest British distinction, which was presented to him in person by George V in London.
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BULLECOURT
Le 11 avril 1917, pour soutenir l’offensive lancée devant Arras depuis deux jours, le Général Gough, à la tête de la Ve armée britannique, déclenche une attaque entre Quéant et Bullecourt, puissant maillon dans l’organisation défensive allemande de la Ligne Hindenburg. Sans l’appui de l’artillerie, 12 tanks doivent ouvrir le passage à la 4th Australian Division et à la 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division, mais les tanks engagés sont rapidement mis hors service. Les soldats se heurtent alors à des défenses allemandes quasi intactes et sont contraints au repli.
Le 3 mai suivant, une seconde attaque est ordonnée. La 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division repart au combat avec la 2nd Australian Division qui refuse toute intervention des chars. Malgré un soutien de l’artillerie et le renfort des 1st et 5th Australian Divisions, la 2nde bataille de Bullecourt s’avère une tragique répétition de la première. Les Australiens prennent pied dans le village mais enregistrent 7 000 pertes supplémentaires.
Au total, près de 10 000 hommes de l’Australian Imperial Force sont tués ou blessés lors de ces deux batailles de Bullecourt.
On 11th April 1917, in support of the offensive launched outside Arras two days previously, the commander of the British Fifth Army, General Gough, ordered an attack between Quéant and Bullecourt, a stronghold in the German defensive system known as the Hindenburg Line. Without artillery support, 12 tanks were to open a passage for the 4th Australian Division and the 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division but the tanks deployed were quickly put out of action. So the infantry soldiers came up against German defences that were virtually intact, and were forced to fall back.
The following month, on 3rd May a second attack was ordered. The 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division went into battle once more alongside the 2nd Australian Division which refused the deployment of any tanks. Despite artillery support and reinforcements in the form of the 1st and 5th Australian Divisions, the Second Battle of Bullecourt proved to be a tragic repetition of the first. The Australians took control of the village, but suffered a further 7,000 losses.
In total, almost 10,000 men of the Australian Imperial Force were killed or wounded during the two battles of Bullecourt.
© Paper Menthe
En 1993, la statue d’un soldat australien surnommé le « Digger » est inaugurée dans le parc mémorial australien de Bullecourt, pour rendre hommage à l’engagement des forces australiennes. Œuvre du sculpteur Peter Corlett, qui a également réalisé le Cobber de Fromelles, ce soldat arbore les symboles des forces australiennes : un chapeau mou (slouch hat) sur lequel est accroché le badge du Rising Sun (soleil levant).
In 1993, a statue of an Australian solider nicknamed the “Digger”, was inaugurated in the Australian Memorial Park of Bullecourt to honour the commitment of those Australian forces. The work of sculptor Peter Corlett, who also created the Cobber at Fromelles, this soldier is wearing symbols of the Australian forces: a slouch hat bearing the Rising Sun badge.